James May, who presents the motoring programme alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, said there would be a more serious tone to the new series, which begins on Sunday.

The decision to alter the BBC Two show follows repeated criticism of Top Gear's sillier stunts.

“The keen observer will see a subtle change this series, a slight retreat from the Last of the Summer Wine tomfoolery. It’s easy to get carried away – it’s like drinking, you start to believe you’re funny and other people might not," May told the Radio Times.

“I don’t think anybody would say a TV programme has got too big – everybody wants their programme to be the biggest in the world. But it opens you to accusations of dumbing down, all that sort of stuff. It possibly makes it more difficult.”

Notorious Top Gear stunts include the presenters blowing up a caravan, May pretending to crash-land an airship and Clarkson firing a Renault Twingo off the docks in Belfast. Clarkson has found himself in trouble several times

In November, Ofcom upheld viewer complaints about a Top Gear spoof advert in which a man shot himself in the head because he had bought the wrong car. The BBC argued that the scene was a "ludicrous and obviously comic" depiction of suicide, but the media watchdog disagreed.

May, a Daily Telegraph columnist, said he would like to pursue more serious television projects when he finishes Top Gear, including "a serious eight-part documentary about the post-war development of the car - fairly highbrow, Andrew Marr territory".

While it has its critics, Top Gear is BBC Two's most-watched programme, regularly drawing audiences of over five million. It is broadcast in more than 100 countries and is said to be one of the most illegally downloaded programmes in the world.